Ryan

I saw this film at the Newport International Film Festival a few days ago (June 12, 2005). It won an award at the Festival for Best Animated Short.

I am an animation enthusiast who has created some of his own experimental animations. Up until seeing "Ryan" I didn't know the film existed and the NIFF did not list it as an Academy Award winner. So I went into the theater to see a series of short animated movies of which "Ryan" was included.

When I LEFT the shorts program screening, I couldn't help thinking of how profoundly moved I had been after having seen "Ryan". The imagination and creativity that went into the making this short were nothing short of incredible. The two main characters were fragmented and distorted in a way that represented (as many of you have said) the disintegration of the psyche and persona of the individuals. But the faces still had shreds of their original faces included. This was one of the animation techniques that amazed me the most because I really could not tell if the facial shreds were computer generated or rotoscoped from the faces of actors then applied to the individual shreds.

This movie was also laid out as an animated documentary, which is unusual. This means that there isn't much action. Everything is in the interviews that were conducted throughout the film. This means the animators had to REALLY pay attention to the small details. One detail in particular occurred towards the end of the film. This detail shows all street signs, store fronts and window writing written backwards. But if you look closely in one of the windows, you will see the reflection of one of the characters, and he is a complete being. So the world we have been taken to in this marvelous film is very similar to the world Alice stumbled into when she went through the looking glass.

This is a very definite 10 out of 10. Most of my points are awarded for imagination, creativity and for telling a moving story about someone I had never heard of before.

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Edit 10/17/2011

Entire film on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrsVa3CzQj0

This is not your typical animated short. It's not something you'd normally see before a full length feature at the cinema. It's more complex, and deep as it is fun and entertaining. There are, however elements of that too.

"Ryan" is a story about Ryan Larkin, an innovative, talented and gifted Canadian artist from the late 60s and early 70s. Director Chris Landreth plays himself, only a much more animated version. His body is breaking apart, his memories are haunting him and he's much more interested in the late artist instead of his own life. He introduces us to Ryan, voiced by Ryan Larkin himself, and tells us that he's on the verge of breaking down (literally). The story then starts playing out very visually as Ryan starts explaining the troubles of being an artist and how many are not respected and poor.

The visual style of this is enchanting. It goes through 3D animation, to pencil drawing, to painting, to sketches. Really unique in the sense that it stimulates your eye and allows you to see much more in the screen than most animated features do in a full scene. There are relative clues as to the depth of the main character, and how he's nostalgic of the past, and stricken by the disease of poverty ('Spare change? Thank you, sir, you're very kind.').

Chris starts out by telling us that he's about to explain some things to us. We expect him to tell us a story of Ryan, which has a regular narrative structure in which there's a beginning, a climax and the end. However, he tells us this story in a series of flashbacks, interviews, and visuals. That's where the interesting part really kicks in. Friends of Ryan are brought in through different forms of animation, and they explain to us just how Ryan's life has been.

Every little detail of this movie is flawless. We see a closeup of Ryan and his jaw-dropping realistic face, we see that when he smokes and freezes the camera circles him, exposing every millimeter of perfection, from the smoke to the back of his deformed head. Each shot is so well animated, and yet so deep that it's no wonder it won at the Oscars (ironically since Ryan Larkin was at the Oscars in 1969 and lost only to become unsuccessful and poor). "Ryan" shows us that you can make an animated short that isn't targeted at kids, and have it both entertaining and thought-provoking.

documentary. homage. and fascinating use of CGI for a story who deserves it. because it is more than the concise, precise, touching and bitter story of Ryan Larkin. it is a wise and provocative film. because it is a special way for discover an artist and his universe. remembering the flavor of bohemian life style, the cultural revolutions of XX century. and the taste of freedom.

Don't follow the genre at all so I have no idea how unique the effects are. Just happened to catch it on the CBC indie show Zed and was reminded about it when I heard it got an Oscar nomination. And I must say, this is a rare instance where you see a new technology being applied in a way that actually enhances every aspect of what happens to be a deep and touching story. As opposed to today's big budget CGI which provides little more than a cheap thrill. I can imagine if I were in Ryan's shoes in his regrettable state, I would feel exactly like the stripped down fragments of skin, bone, tendons and random Rube Goldberg parts he's depicted as. A must see film, and not only because of the gorgeous animation. 10/10

"Ryan" deserves ever accolade it has received and more. It illuminates. It shines a light on a piece of animation history while putting it into the greater context of one animator's creative journey. It is that rare example of a true animated documentary, using the form to better tell the story, enhancing it. Utilizing the fanciful to better tell the truth.

It has recently become available on DVD for five dollars at www.Filmporium.com. I highly recommend adding this academy-award winner to your library. This is one film that not holds up to, but rewards repeated viewing. The DVD also contains Bill Plympton's "Eat" and the circle-of-life short "Flux" by Chris Hinton.